Legend
by tato82
Summary: AU. After the Mizuki incident, Naruto age 10 decides to leave Konoha until he's capable of containing the influence of the Fox. A new legend is forged in the fires of a war for survival. Xover with ES4:Oblivion, now major RuroKen and NinGai. NO YAOI!
1. Prologue

This is an idea I've had running on my head for a while now. It's an AU where instead of the story beginning on Naruto's 3rd academy exam it begins when he is 10 years old and failed his first academy exam. It's an 'Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion' crossover with some elements of Ninja Gaiden included.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything cause' if I did I'd be swimming in money while yelling: "I'M RICH BTCH!"

**SPOILER ALERT:**

**IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST MANGA CHAPTERS AND DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS THEN DON'T READ.**

"Hello" character speaking.

'Hello' character thinking.

"HELLO" character yelling aloud

'HELLO' character yelling in his/her mind

**LEGEND.**

**PROLOGUE.**

On the deck of a seagoing ship a young man, who could not be older than seventeen years, was looking westward. His unruly and not so long blond hair was flowing with the wind, his blue eyes not straying from the land before them, a continent that he had not seen in a little over three years. He sure was taller than the day he had left and stronger too, having to fight a war like the one he had been involved with had a tendency to do so.

When he was twelve years old he had departed on a quest to obtain something that belonged to his lineage. He still did not know who his parents were or if he had parents at all but that old bat Muramasa had convinced him that it was his duty to travel to the lands beyond the great eastern sea to recover the 'Eye of the Dragon'.

'I hope the old bastard's still alive' He thought while a smile formed on his face then he snorted "An easy errand my ass!" The crew and passengers of the ship only looked at him and smiled. Some actually laughed at him.

'As soon as I hit the port of Kirigakure I'll send a message to that pervert-missing-a-screw-on-the-brain-sensei of mine to meet me in the land of the Waves.' His smile now grew wider.

'Those four are there, can't wait to see them again. Especially HER! And boy do I have a tall tale to tell them!'

Uzumaki Naruto was returning home.

He started snickering when he thought about finally accomplishing his original goal 'Now that I'm strong enough to not give in to the urges of the Fox and I can control its power (mostly), I'll return to Konoha and take the Old man's job! Just as I promised!'

But now the young man renowned as the 'Champion of Cyrodiil' began reminiscing about the path that he had started walking on that faithful day.

He started thinking of the day everything changed.

A/N

Well here it is: my first foray into the world of fan fiction. The prologue was a little short but hey, it's just the prologue. Also it'll be an epic length fic, God willing.

So feel free to post any criticism (constructive) or suggestions.

Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 1: And So it Begins

Here goes chapter one.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto cause' if I did I'd be swimming in money while yelling: "I'M RICH BTCH!"

**SPOILER ALERT:**

**IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST MANGA CHAPTERS AND DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS THEN DON'T READ.**

"Hello" character speaking.

'Hello' character thinking.

"HELLO" character yelling aloud

'HELLO' character yelling in his/her mind

**LEGEND.**

**PART 1, CHAPTER 1: SO IT BEGINS.**

It all began with a decision.

In the instant it takes for a heart to beat once, everything changed.

Old man Sarutobi was worried. Mizuki had opened his mouth and spilled Konoha's darkest secret to Naruto in despite of Iruka's protests and the poor kid was not taking the news very well.

This was not the way he wanted the truth to be revealed to young Naruto and it could lead to disaster but all he could do was pray and hope for the best.

He could only look at his crystal ball in resignation.

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"Me? The demon fox?" the clearly shaken child asked.

"Mizuki! Shut up! Don't say anything else! You know it's forbidden to talk about it!" Iruka begged.

But the traitor just ignored him. "Yes! Didn't you ever wonder why they hated you? Why they treated you so coldly? Why the beatings happened on your birthday? Why NOBODY wanted you?"

"It's because you ARE the fox. The Yondaime Hokage could not kill the Kyubi, no mortal can so he did the next best thing he sealed it within a newborn child, _you_. And by killing you I'll be doing a favor to this village." Mizuki finished as he reached into his back for a fuuma shurinken that he had been carrying with him.

By this point the child could feel his cerulean eyes tearing, eyes that for such a young person had already seen too much. He was so shaken by this revelation that he did not pay attention to the weapon that would have killed him had it not been for Iruka throwing him to the ground while taking the hit for him.

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Naruto I'm sorry, if only I had paid more attention to you… If only I had been there for you… the pain of being alone I know it very well and maybe this wouldn't have happened."

Not knowing what else to do Naruto scrambled from the ground and ran as fast as his legs would take him.

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled.

"Don't worry Iruka, I'll come back to finish you off after I'm done with the demon brat!"

Mizuki taunted Iruka as he ran deeper into the forest hot in Naruto's trail.

'Damn it! I had forgotten about Mizuki' Thought a heavily injured Iruka as he managed to stand up and join the pursuit.

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"Naruto! We lost Mizuki! Now hand me the scroll!" Yelled Iruka as he caught up to his fleeing student. He was then completely surprised when the kid attacked him.

"How? How did you know I wasn't the real Iruka?"

"Because _I am_ Iruka" answered Naruto as he dropped the henge to reveal the real McCoy.

"Huh! Very clever! But why do you even help the demon? He's like me; he'll only use the power of that scroll to get his revenge against the village!"

"You are right, the demon would. But not the child, he understands pain and even tough he is a bit brash and clumsy he always tries his best. He is one of my excellent students: Uzumaki Naruto!"

Unbeknownst to them the child in question was listening from a hiding spot with tears running down his face.

"And to think I was planning on sparing your life. Fine! If you like the demon so much then I'll send you to hell first!" Mizuki stated as he prepared to launch his fuuma shurinken.

Suddenly he felt as if he was flying and a very acute pain on his back. He landed on a roll and as he regained his bearings he could see Naruto standing between him and Iruka with a look of determination that he had never seen on him and it had an intensity that scared him.

"If you touch Iruka-sensei, I will **kill** you."

"Cocky aren't we, brat?"

His only answer was a cross seal he had seen used by jounin on rare occasions.

'The demon actually learned a jutsu from the scroll?'

"Kage bunshin no jutsu."

That was the last thing he heard before he was swarmed by an orange sea and lost consciousness.

Iruka could only look in utter shock at Naruto's incredible display of skill and stamina.

'BY ALL THAT'S HOLY! Did he possess this much skill before?!' Even though he repeated this question in his mind over and over again he just could not help the smile that formed on his face the more he thought about it.

"Maybe I overdid it, ha ha ha!" Naruto said in his usual sheepish stance: with his hand scratching the back of his head and a squinted foxy look in his eyes.

"Naruto come over here. I have something for you"

Naruto obeyed and walked over to his teacher

"Now close your eyes" Once again the kid obeyed.

He felt movement on his forehead but had no time to think about it as Iruka instructed him to open his eyes again.

"Congratulations graduate!"

Iruka's own hitai-ate was on his head. "Iruka-sensei….! Thank you." a subdued Naruto could do nothing but hug his teacher, conveniently forgetting that said teacher was injured.

This was the last scene Sarutobi watched on his crystal ball before he left to call of the search for Naruto with a big smile on his face. He had to dispatch a medic team to treat Iruka and an ANBU team to apprehend Mizuki.

'Yes, everything is OK' He thought happily. Then his countenance darkened 'Ugh! But just thinking about the paper work this mess is bound to create is already giving me a huge headache!' 'I know! I'll hand Mizuki over to Ibiki! He's going to be mad to be woken up at this time of the night and a mad Ibiki is bad for your health'.

A sinister smile spread across his face. A smile that would have put even Uchiha Itachi on edge.

Had he stayed to watch what happened next he would have seen an event that would change the history of Konohagakure and indeed that of the entire continent, forever.

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Naruto was still hugging Iruka, happy at the thought of finally being accepted. But he could not help thinking of what Mizuki had revealed to him. Would the villagers accept him as one of their own someday? Could he keep on enduring their horrible treatment?

All of these thoughts were running amok in his mind because he had felt something. A sinister non-human voice deep within him that had urged him to kill Mizuki, had it not been for Iruka he would have given in to its urges.

No, he could not stay. At least not until he became strong and skilled enough for the people to realize that they were wrong about him and if he ever gave in to his anger, to his hatred of the villagers, to the voice; that he now realized must have been the Kyubi, then he would be endangering Iruka and Old man Hokage.

That, he could not allow.

He reluctantly released his hold on Iruka and stood up, determined to go through with his plan. He would just have to hope that Iruka would forgive him.

Iruka looked up to Naruto and saw his face. It had a look of sadness and determination and tears were streaming out of his eyes.

"Iruka-sensei, please tell Hokage-jiji that I'll be back for his job. That's a promise!"

"Huh?!"

"I'm sorry." Naruto whispered

He barely managed to hear the apology before his world went dark.

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It was done. He had knocked his academy teacher out. He hoped that it would delay any pursuit from the village shinobi. He took off the hitai-ate from his forehead and placed it within one of his pockets. He then placed his goggles in one of Iruka's chunin vest pockets with a short note written on it, it read: 'this is a trade when I return you will get your hitai-ate back and I will get one of my own' 'P.D. you'll have to give me my goggles back too!'

Naruto then picked up the forbidden scroll all the while thinking of learning the jutsu contained within and the probabilities that he had of making good on his escape. He started making his way into the forest away from the village when he noticed Mizuki's body beginning to stir.

He could not leave this man with a defenseless Iruka, he would kill him the moment he regained consciousness. Naruto's mind wandered to a lesson at the academy: 'Shinobi are killers. They should not hesitate to take a life on the field, for they risk failing the mission or worse getting your teammates killed'.

He had never actually thought about such things. Naruto had always envisioned shinobi as dashing heroes rescuing princesses in distress and beating up the bad guys. But now, now he understood what had to be done.

After swallowing hard, he reached for Mizuki's kunai pouch with a shaking hand. He grabbed one of the knives, closing his eyes and remembering what he was taught at the academy he plunged the kunai into the traitor's throat. Naruto decided to take all of the dead man's ninja equipment reasoning that he was most assuredly planning to escape tonight after he obtained the forbidden scroll.

His body felt numb, his face incredibly pale, he had to resist from emptying the contents of his stomach to the ground but he couldn't stay here. He turned to see Iruka and the village of his birth one last time and with tears in his eyes he left.

It would be a long time before he would return.

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The next morning Sandaime watched sadly as Iruka lay asleep in the hospital bed. 'The boy will surely blame himself for what happened' he thought 'And he shouldn't, what happened is all my fault' 'I should have… no, there's no point in thinking about it now'

He exited the hospital and headed for the Hokage tower the internal monologue still going on inside his head.

'I hope that the search party finds him' 'And if they hurt him… I will not be kind at all'

But he was a realist. The kid had a huge head start over his pursuers and when Naruto wanted to be sneaky there was no one short of himself that could find him.

'I have contact Jiraiya, with his spy network he should be able to find Naruto' He snorted at that thought 'Spy network my senile ass, he just goes into whorehouses for his research but there is no denying that you hear things you would not find anywhere else'

'Maybe I should retire.' He shook his head 'No, if I do that the fools in the council will demand Naruto's execution and there is no guarantee that whomever they choose as the Godaime will show any leniency for him'

He turned his head and looked up to the fourth face engraved in the Hokage Mountain he closed his eyes and with no small amount of guilt he apologized to his successor.

'Minato, please forgive me my boy. I have failed you.'

A/N

Chapter 1 was a little moody because of the decision that Naruto had to make, but they should lighten up a bit as the story progresses.

Major political intrigue and the introduction of Naruto's sensei for the next chapter!

Feel free to post any criticism (constructive) or suggestions.

Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 2: Politics

Here goes chapter two.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto cause' if I did I'd be swimming in money while yelling: "I'M RICH BTCH!"

**SPOILER ALERT:**

**IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST MANGA CHAPTERS AND DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS THEN DON'T READ.**

"Hello" character speaking.

'Hello' character thinking.

"HELLO" character yelling aloud

'HELLO' character yelling in his/her mind

**LEGEND**

**PART 1, CHAPTER 2: POLITICS (aka FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF THE SWORDSMAN KIND)**

The professor sat in his office staring at the latest search report and… it did not fill him with any confidence at all! It wasn't because the kid was incredibly good at covering his tracks and left no evidence of his presence, 'No! That would be against the horrible hand that destiny dealt me recently!' he thought, it was because there were too many traces of him at the scene that made it nearly impossible to find him! Apparently Naruto had flooded the forest with Kage bunshin during his fight with Mizuki turning the search for said kid into what could be considered an Inuzuka's worst nightmare.

'It's been nearly a week since he left and still not one trace of him! Nothing!'

Yep! Sarutobi Sasuke, legendary ninja, God of shinobi (It was later noted that he had stated several different times that: 'If anyone truly deserves that title it would have to be Namikaze Minato! The Yondaime Hokage!'), Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato was in a very foul mood.

'And as if that wasn't bad enough, the council has been riding my ass to place his name in the nuke-nin bingo book for the theft of the scroll of forbidden jutsu.' Now his face started even more aged and sour. 'I just hope the kid is does not hurt himself trying to learn some of the most dangerous techniques sealed within the scroll or worse yet: release the Kyubi no kitsune by accident!'

Then he had to think about the loss of a very capable academy teacher. Iruka no longer felt like he was qualified for teaching at the academy and had requested for a reactivation in the active duty roster. There was a reason why he had been taken off it but from what he had told Sarutobi, he hoped that during any of his missions outside the village; should he encounter Naruto, he might be able to bring the kid back home.

'Poor Iruka's blaming himself for having failed Naruto'

Yes, Sarutobi had gotten back an incredibly talented shinobi but the price had been too high.

Just as the saying goes: 'When it rains, it pours' Indeed, a most certain truth!

Suddenly he felt the hairs of his back stand up, a very dangerous presence had entered the room without him noticing it. He recognized him almost immediately.

"Jiraiya" He said tiredly.

"Sarutobi- sensei" Was the answer. Anger radiated out of every pour of his body.

Now the Sandaime winced. Normally his former student would not be formal at all 'Hell! Does he ever show respect for anyone!?' It would always be Saru-sensei, Old man or Sandy funny hat when he felt playful. 'But I guess it's understandable' He sighed.

"Please take a sit"

"What happened?" Jiraiya asked before he even finished taking a sit. "I know you could not tell the whole story in the message that you sent me" He sat down in front of his former master, expecting his response.

And so Sarutobi related to him all that had occurred starting from the day Naruto left. Of course, he tried to downplay the harsh treatment that the boy was subjected to by the people of the village. He knew that if push came to shove he would not be able to stop Jiraiya if he decided to vent his anger on the villagers. 'Ha! Who would have thought all those years ago that out of my three students, it would be the dead last that I would not be able win a fight against?' 'Yes' he thought 'Too many regrets from those times'

He would not delude himself into thinking that he was fooling Jiraiya though, the man before him had become an intelligence gathering master. He would know everything that happened in the boy's life, all he could do was minimize the damage. 'Well we will cross that bridge once I'm done debriefing him'

Once Sarutobi once done with the story, the explosion of anger that he expected from his student did not come; and that had him worried. Instead, Jiraiya was looking at him right in the eyes with an intensity he had seen very few times.

"I told you this would happen" He said in a calm yet accusing tone "I told you that **I** should have taken the boy!" He started showing more emotion now. He gave a resigned sigh and asked "What are you planning on doing now?... to correct this mistake?"

Sarutobi, looking even more tired than before, looked down into his desk. "You know as well as I do that as soon as you walked out of here with a blond child behind you, the nations we… no **HE** defeated during the last Great Shinobi War would have put two and two together and sent one assassination squad after another to kill you both. But that's in the past." He paused. "Now all we can do is keep looking for him… and try to keep the council from ordering his death."

The response Sarutobi received was not what he expected "You have become senile and too soft in your old age sensei. The way things are now the council will roll all over you, even if you have Homura-jisan and Koharu-basan on your side." He then continued. "You might raise the support of most of the council by revealing the truth about Naruto's parents. However, I would not entrust that slime-ball Danzo with that bit of information even if my life depended on it."

"Too true; and if any of our former enemies got a hold of those facts it could spell a lot of trouble for the Leaf and for the boy, he has no one to protect him now." He answered. 'Now…' he thought 'for the hard part.'

"Jiraiya… " He began speaking. "As you know I was supposed to retire ten years ago…" Jiraiya didn't like the sound of it, not at all. "And just as you said I've grown old and soft, I need a strong successor and after your former student you are the strongest shinobi that Konoha has ever produced." Sarutobi took the plunge into the abyss. "I need you to succeed me as the Godaime Hokage." There! He said it!

"HELL NO!" Jiraiya finally lost his composure. "I won't become Hokage to this bunch of ingrates… and… and… MY RESEARCH! MY PRECIOUS RESEARCH! Who would bless the world with the beautiful and uplifting literature I write!"

Now it was Sarutobi's turn to lose it. "JIRAIYA! Get a hold of yourself! The boy needs you! You know as well as I do that the council would not dare go against you!" Jiraiya seemed to calm down at this. "I've already failed the boy once and I'm not planning on failing him again! For his sake **YOU MUST BECOME HOKAGE**!"

Jiraiya knew it was the truth, his reputation and power were feared and respected all over the Elemental Continent. The council would not want to get into a conflict, either of wills or of the more physical kind with him. He had no choice but to accept but first, there was something that needed to be done. He resigned himself to his fate and sighed in defeat.

"Ok, I'll do it!" He said with a childish tone. "But! Before I take office you have to promise me something!" Sarutobi asked: "And what is it?" Jiraiya's only reply was "Nuh-uh! First promise me you will do something for me" The old man nodded accepted, somehow he knew this would come back to bite him in the ass but it had to be done.

Jirairya continued "There is something else that I need to do or rather there's someone we need to find" Understanding dawned on Sarutobi's face. "I have an idea of where she is and if I'm right I should be back with her in about a week."

"You really think that Tsunade will return willingly?"

"Well she has a spot secured in the council and once she hears that some of those bastards are planning on having killed her only living **blood relative** and son of her favorite student...well, I think she'll come running so fast that people will have to ask themselves why they gave the nickname of Konoha no Kiroi-Senko to Minato!" He finished the last part with a grin.

Sarutobi also had to smile. Jiraiya spoke once more: "You really think that the kid will keep his promise and come back? I mean, I know about him but I don't **know** him, so I don't know if he'll keep that promise."

"Well… I know him very well and if there is something about Naruto that the people of the village have to admit, no matter how much they hate him, is that he **always… always** keeps his promises." The old man smiled broadly now, remembering the little blond bundle of joy. He then continued "We have to set up a meeting with the council to announce your accession to the Hokage title as soon as possible and I'll have the transition ceremony ready for when you return."

With that they left the Hokage Tower and immediately headed to the council chambers. When they were finally in front of the chamber doors Jiraiya could not help a smirk that came to his face, he was feeling giddy 'They are so not going to like this! Good! Let the fireworks begin!' Were the thoughts running through his head. He certainly did not like most of the people in the council, nope indeedy!

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Jiraiya found himself at the east gate of Konoha, ready to depart the village in his search for the Slug Sannin: Tsunade-hime. With him Sarutobi and his old teammates whom had come to wish him luck and a safe trip.

They had said their goodbyes and Jiraiya turned towards the gate heading east to a small gambling town that had recently opened. 'Much to Tsunade's pleasure I would venture saying' He had to chuckle at that thought. He then remembered something, and smiled darkly. From out of nowhere shadows came and engulfed his face. He turned to face his old master who looked visibly shaken at the sight before him.

"Oi! Saru-sensei! You remember that promise you made when I accepted to become Hokage?

Sarutobi paled at this question. His former teammates discreetly backing away from him as fast as they could.

'He could rival Ukemaru now!' His smile grew wider and became sickeningly sweet as he spoke once more.

"Well I was thinking that when, not if, **When **Kushina wakes up from her coma you'll be the one that gets to tell her everything!"

Now Sarutobi became a statue that cracked and broke down on the floor.

Jiraiya once more turned around running out of the village while letting out a maniacal laugh that had everyone that heard it calling out for their mommies.

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Naruto had been on the run for more than a week and he had yet to see signs of any pursuers.

He had put whatever he had actually learned from Iruka-sensei about outdoors survival. He remembered his dear sensei's words very clearly: "Shinobi have to know how to live from the land. It is one of the most important sets of skills that you will need to survive in the wilderness during a mission where supplies are non-existent, if you are lost, or get cut-off from friendly forces behind enemy lines."

He had barely understood his words but during practice he had been one of the best. He had to be, for several times merchants had refused to sell him any food and he had been forced to catch his own in the forests near the village.

Now he hoped that the Old man would understand why he had gotten away from the village and that he would forgive him for taking the scroll. He had learned two more techniques contained within it. Unsurprisingly, they had been clone related jutsu: the kage kunai bunshin no jutsu (Kunai shadow clone technique) and the kage bunshin daibakuha no jutsu (Clone: great explosion technique). He did not understand why these two jutsu were classified as forbidden as they came very easily to him.

His thoughts now strayed to his supply situation and a sigh escaped him as he thought of the most horrifying thing about the last week. No, it wasn't taking that traitor's 'Mizuki-teme' life, it was 'NO RAMEN FOR A WHOLE FREAKING WEEK! I'm having withdrawal symptoms, whatever that means.'

He then noticed something ahead, the forest was clearing. 'It's a road! It leads to a town! It leads to a town with **RAMEN**!' Yep! No matter what the situation, you can always count on little Naru-chan to think about ramen.

As he got closer to the clearing he noticed a caravan, a caravan that was under attack by some 20 bandits. 'I can't let this injustice continue!' And he exploded into action.

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A wandering swordsman was walking down the road towards the village of Hokuryu, a place renowned for its sake and beautiful women. He giggled at his thoughts 'Fine sake and women after being on the road for so long will hit the right spot!'

The man in question did not look to be anything but an ordinary samurai, except for his God-awful white-seems-like-it's-alive cape. A beautiful katana safely secured at his waist, his short dark red hair loose around his face and mischievous dark brown eyes that seemed to shine whenever he thought about… yes, you guessed it: sake and women.

With these happy thoughts going around inside his head his body decided to add a skip to his pace to reflect its happiness and anticipation for the fun that was soon to come. All of this combined belied his true deadly nature for if anyone were to look attentively into his eyes they would see death given human form.

Suddenly he stopped, there were screams of men and women 'Young women! Possibly beautiful, eager and willing young women!' he thought, the telltale sounds of struggle going on behind the next curve of the road becoming clearer the closer he got.

Now he was bounding towards what he hoped were beautiful ladies in trouble all the while screaming: "I'M COMING TO YOUR AID MY BEAUTIFUL LADIES! DO NOT DESPAIR! A YOUNG, GOOD LOOKING HERO IN SHINING ARMOR HAS COME TO YOUR RESCUE!"

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Naruto came out into the road, jumped in front of the caravan and yelled (not something a stealthy ninja would or should do): "STOP EVIL DOERS! SUPER NINJA UZUMAKI NARUTO WILL STOP YOU!" Now, you must understand that our hero is still ten years old and no matter what he has seen or done there is a lot of inoscence and naivete left in him.

The people fighting around the caravan just turned around and seeing a scrawny, dumb looking little kid whom they promptly ignored in favor of continuing to hack at each other.

Naruto, mad at being ignored one more time in his life; put his hands in the increasingly familiar cross seal and called out the name of the technique: "Taiju Kage bunshin no jutsu!" and suddenly out of nowhere the bandits found themselves surrounded by an orange army and only had time to gape before they were assaulted on all sides by a sea of orange and yellow.

It was to this scene that our wandering swordsman came bouncing into still screaming about beautiful young ladies, and they doing things as thanks that made most guys blush and the females scream in anger at the dirty bastard that uttered them.

What he saw once he came out of his perversion induced dream world was something that left him confused, a little kid standing in the middle of a bunch of beaten up would be bandits.

Naruto locked eyes with him and both had to suppress a shudder.

'What a horrible getup!' They both thought at the same time.

And a fated meeting or a very unlucky event, as they would call it from time to time later on in their lives, had occurred.

A/N

I had a blast writing this chapter and I hope you have a blast reading it. Hokuryu is a real village in Hokkaido, I just googled 'japanes village name' and there it was. Looks very beautiful in the pictures.

Next chapter: Jiraiya goes searching for Tsunade. The dynamic between future sensei and student is not like one would normally expect but when it comes to Naruto, hardly anything is normal.

Chapter 3: Hiko Seijuro.

Feel free to post any criticism (constructive) or suggestions.

Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 3: Hiko Seijuro!

Here goes chapter three.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto cause' if I did I'd be swimming in money while yelling: "I'M RICH BTCH!"

**SPOILER ALERT:**

**IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST MANGA CHAPTERS AND DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS THEN DON'T READ.**

"Hello" character speaking.

'Hello' character thinking.

"HELLO" character yelling aloud

'HELLO' character yelling in his/her mind

**LEGEND**

**PART 1, CHAPTER 3: HIKO SEIJURO! (AKA: ERO-RONIN!)**

Inside of a dark cave a meeting of an organization comprised of the most feared S class criminals in the continent was taking place. Nine shadowy figures were standing in a circle and silence reigned amongst them until a spiky haired figure spoke.

"Your pawn failed to acquire Konoha's Scroll of Forbidden Jutsu, Itachi-san."

"……" Silence was the only answer.

"Not only that but the fact that it was the Kyubi jinchuuruki and left Konoha."

"Yeah, weasel-kun, that looser you chose messed up big time, yeah"

"……"

"That's enough Deidara."

"Whatever you say leader, yeah"

The _leader _spoke once more. "However, this unexpected turn of events gives us a perfect opportunity to capture the Kyubi as he has no one to protect him now."

Finally the figure known as Uchiha Itachi decided to talk. "I apologize but I will rectify that mistake by finding the boy and bring him and the scroll to us."

Seven figures left the circle and after a few moments a new one entered.

The _leader_ addressed the new figure. "What do you think, Madara-san?"

"It matters not; we are still some seven years away from really needing to capture all of the bijuu and I don't believe the kid is stupid enough to release it. Until then keep them busy and inline." Madara paused and chuckled in a sinister way "After all Pein, you **are** the leader."

And so the meeting of Akatsuki ended.

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'This kid has a horrible sense of fashion! **Bright****orange**! And he calls himself a super ninja!' These were the thoughts of the swordsman while he stared at our young hero.

Not that Naruto was doing any better.

'Holy shit! Is that cape alive?! It's moving way too much! And there is no wind today!'

Yep! Deep thoughts from two of history's greatest philosophers… NOT!

The swordsman was the one who decided to break the silence. "Well… it seems like shorty here took care of those bandits, doesn't it?" And that was the wrong choice of words to go with.

Now you have to understand, Naruto is very, very, veeeeery height conscious. This is due to a severe lack of a balanced nutrition he suffered back in Konoha. Thus, he was teased more than the usual kid would be.

"HEY! WHO YOU CALLIN' SHORTY!? YOU… YOU FASHION REJECT!" The kid in question shouted in an extremely loud volume level, an 'it'll make your ears bleed' level.

"What d… d… WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME YOU YELLOW HAIRED RAT!?" Indeed the answer of a fully grown and mature adult.

"You heard me… FASHION REJECT!"

"What do you mean 'fashion reject'? I'll let you know that my rugged good looks have gotten me into the beds of beautiful young ladies many times over not to mention that UNLIKE YOUR HEIGHT IT CAN BE FIXED!"

As the 'meaning of life' discussion was happening the members of the caravan could not help but turn their heads in a back and forth manner taking bets on who would come out victorious from this verbal battle. Hell! They were even taking bets on the 'cute, foxy blond kid' and the 'weird, perverted creep!'

Everyone was so concentrated on this that they failed to notice the bandits had finally recovered from the smack down they had received earlier and start advancing on the unsuspecting and mismatched duo.

Indeed, Naruto was so engrossed in the 'debate' that he did not see them until it was too late for him to react but for the very experienced swordsman they were little more than bothersome mosquitoes.

'They're distracted, now it's our time to get them!' was the general idea on the minds of the bandits. However, one of them had recognized the swordsman.

'The clothes! The hair! The face! It's him! If the stories about him are true we are done for!' "H… H… H… Hiko Seijuro!" The now scared bandit managed to whisper despite his growing fear. No one heard him, much to the misfortune of his gang.

"**YOU'LL STAY OUT OF THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DIE!**" Shouted the now revealed Hiko Seijuro and with just a couple of 'impossible to follow with the naked eye' swings of his sword all of the bandits went down.

Naruto was frozen in place. He had never seen nor heard about anything like this before. He had always thought that a ninja's best weapon was ninjutsu and had nearly become obsessed trying to learn them. But what he had seen, he really didn't see anything, just now was unlike anything he had ever imagined.

'If I learn how to do that I'll become really strong' he thought, "W… What was that? I only heard you unsheathe and then sheath your sword and they all died" Naruto's voice came out more shaken than he intended.

"You really think they are dead?" Asked Hiko, he then paused. "No, they are not dead for it would be a show of disrespect to my style of swordsmanship if wasted my skills by killing these buffoons!"

Then one of the downed bandits groaned and looked up to the master swordsman. "You… You are Hiko Seijuro, aren't you?"

"So, you've heard of my exploits." It was a statement not a question.

"Yes, but why did you spare our lives?"

"I already stated my reason. However, there is another."

"What?" Asked the bandit now-become a nervous wreck 'Will he just leave us to die slowly from bleeding out here with all the wild animals around to eat us, as an example?!' He could not help the tears that came to his face.

"Well, I'll just tie you up and get the town guard to come and pick you up. That way I'll get a reward!" He said in a tongue in cheek way. This answer made everyone stare at him in disbelief. "What? A man has to eat you know?" was his innocent reply. And with that said every face hit the ground.

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And so, the duo decided to accompany the caravan all the way to Hokuryu. The people were grateful enough and felt secure enough in the hands of the legendary Hiko Seijuro to allow them to load the captured bandits and take them into town.

During the trip Hiko became increasingly annoyed from all the attention the blond brat was receiving from HIS ladies (he actually thought they were his), but could not shake the vaguely familiar vibe he was getting from the boy. His curiosity finally won and decided to get some information from the kid. He beckoned him to come all the way to the rear of the caravan were no one would listen in on them.

"So… what's your name kid?" That question took Naruto by surprise considering that they had been in a glaring contest ever since the first moment they met.

"It's Uzumaki Naruto." He said in a guarded way "What's yours?"

Hiko crumpled to the ground at that but he quickly recovered "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHAT'S YOURS?' I'M HIKO SEIJURO, GREATEST SWORDS MASTER THAT HAS EVER LIVED!" He then continued in a more calmed but no less pompous manner "I am very famous you know. Besides, everyone's been saying my name since our encounter with the bandits. Didn't you hear it at least once?"

"Sorry but I really wasn't paying attention." Naruto answered back with his typical sheepish look and a hand scratching the back of his head. Once again the swordsman's body connected with the ground.

He recovered yet again and stayed silent as troubling thoughts ran through his head 'Uzumaki?! That's the name of the girl Minato was always talking about! And he looks just like him!' This made him remember better times some 15 years ago, before the third great shinobi war began. When he was younger he met Namikaze Minato during the blonde's 2 year leave as a sennin from Konoha. Sure it had not been the best first meeting, after all, it was the first and only time he had lost a fight. Afterwards they had traveled together and made quite a name for themselves. Then, six months before the war Minato was recalled due to the growing tension between the great shinobi nations.

'I shouldn't rush to conclusions, they might be completely unrelated' He turned to look at Naruto once more 'Still, the resemblance is uncanny!' he then continued his interrogation of the boy "So where are you from? And what is such a young child doing out here all alone? Won't your parents get worried?"

When he saw countenance become sad Hiko knew he had hit a sour spot. All he could do was to wait for an answer. Said answer took a few seconds to come.

"I… I'm from Konoha, and I never knew my parents."

For some strange reason Naruto felt he could trust this man. It was a weird sensation that he felt often, like a voice telling him what to do, who to trust and detect whether the person was telling the truth or lying. He knew it was not the Kyubi; it was something else deep within him and it came in very handy.

'There's no denying it this is their son but, what is he doing outside of Konoha? The Sandaime hokage must have known who he was just by looking at him and wouldn't have let him wander outside all alone… unless he didn't.' He finally noticed the huge scroll attached to the boy's back and the word 'kinjutsu' written on it and came to the realization that the kid had run away from home. The question was: why?

"So you ran from Konoha?"

Naruto gave Hiko a startled look before and only nodded in affirmation.

"Why?"

"Because to them I'm only a remnant of the past, something that reminds them of a horrible event that happened ten years ago."

'Ten years ago? What happened a decade ago?' Then the answer hit him in the face with the force of a sledgehammer 'The Kyubi attacked Konoha ten years ago!' Hiko had always wondered how Minato had defeated the demon 'He couldn't have killed it, no mortal man could. Unless said man was wielding a divine weapon but… there is only one such weapon in the continent and it has not been wielded by anyone in over fifteen hundred years!'

Indeed, the Ryuken (dragon sword), mythical weapon of heavenly origin and great power; said to have been forged from the fangs of the ancient dragon kings, had not been drawn from its sheath in over fifteen centuries. It was kept as a holy relic in the temple erected to the ancient dragons deep in the mountains of Mizu no Kuni. Special blood seals were placed on it by its last wielder so that it could not be unsheathed by anyone who was not of the dragon line. There was a long list of the people that died, over that span of time, trying to claim it. For many it was proof enough that the stories around it were no mere legend.

'So how did he do it?' And after finally remembering that his long deceased friend was a seal master the answer came to him.

'That fool! He wouldn't have done what I'm thinking he did now, would he? Only one way to find out I guess…' "The Yondaime Hokage sealed **it** within you didn't he?"

'He figured it out! Now he'll hate me too' Naruto thought morosely "Yes… I guess now you'll hate me too, huh?" Hiko's answer really surprised Naruto.

"No! Do not confuse me with the scum you have dealt with for most of your life! I know the difference between a ningen (human) and a youkai (demon) when I see it and even though its essence and energy is filtered and siphoned to you I can sense that at your core you are human just as much as I am!"

Now the young child had tears running down his face but they were not tears of sadness but tear of joy: someone else, a stranger really, had accepted him for what he was. Still that last part confused him. He wiped his tears and voiced his question.

"Sense the difference? What are you talking about?"

Now Hiko took a scholarly look not unlike that of a teacher who's about to impart his knowledge to his favorite class.

"My style, the Hiten mitsurugi- ryū, was created nearly three thousand years ago by a man named Hiko Seijuro." He noticed Naruto's confused look and explained "It became tradition that every new master of the style would take the name of Hiko Seijuro in honor of its founder." He continued "Anyways this occurred when the ancient nation states were still in their infancy. It was created with the intent of enabling a single man to fight off an entire army. 'A sword that pits one against thousands' my master called it. It's based on the wielder's ability to read his opponents emotions and killer instinct in order to react against any attacks that might be thrown at him" He paused to look at Naruto and saw that the kid's attention was completely focused on him and the history behind Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū, "It was originally created to fight human opponents but some twenty five hundred years ago, the barrier between our world, the mortal plane and the demon plane weakened and with it came a period of war between us and the demons of the Makai realm. According to some of the records from that period that were kept by the Hiten Mitsurugi successors we, humans, had created weapons so devastating that they could reduce entire cities to rubble in less than a second… Our ancestors were losing and in an act of desperation they decided to use them, these weapons reshaped the land into the form that we see now. The problem is that their plan did not work as they hoped it would, in fact, it backed fired on them as it created an even bigger opening for more of the foul beasts to come into our world."

A look of horror came to Naruto's face, the level of destruction Hiko was talking about had him completely stumped and he just could not imagine what it would feel having your last hope for victory turn into something out of your worst nightmares.

Hiko continued with the story. "Some of these demons could take human shape and they could walk amongst us undeterred until it was too late to stop them, you can already imagine the chaos these creatures in disguise could create. So it was for that reason the successor of that time searched for a way to distinguish between humans and the demon look-alikes."

He turned to look at Naruto again and couldn't help smiling at the boy's look of concentration mixed with curiosity. He had obviously never heard of this. 'After all' he thought 'many people have already forgotten what happened in the past'

Naruto's thoughts on the matter were along a similar line. 'I've never heard of all this until today! Not even in the academy! And how come Iruka-sensei was always so boooring when talking about history?' He frowned at that last thought.

"The answer to the problem came from an unexpected source: a ninja of the Dragon Lineage. You see, it was not the first time that such things happened. When humanity first came into being the youkai walked the land without care and they saw the new creatures as nothing more than prey. Humans were hunted and had no way of protecting themselves. It all changed when their desperate cries for help reached a heavenly dragon and it clawed at its heart that no other divine would take action. It came to a decision: It could **not** in good conscience let humanity die. He assumed human form and fought to protect the humans he took under his care. However, having taken human form had unexpected side effects. He started to feel something it had never felt: human emotions, it did not take long for him to fall in love with a mortal woman. She conceived for him several sons and they would take the protection of mankind as their duty even after their father was forced to return to the heavens."

He realized then that he was getting into another topic "I'm sorry I got all sidetracked there kid but the story is just too good for it to not be told."

"It's Ok! I mean, I wanna hear it all! Please keep going!"

A chuckle escaped from Hiko's mouth as he continued. "Aaanyways, the men of the Dragon Lineage were the first ninja to exist, they kicked demon ass and saved the world. Now, you would think that they would have relaxed and gotten lazy but they decided to keep watch over the world in case their enemies returned. They trained each successive generation in the same arts that gave their ancestors victory all those ages ago whiled adding new things here and there. And so it came to be that one of them thought the Hiko Seijuro of that age how to detect the life force of living beings and tell the difference between youkai and ningen. It's been passed on as part of the successor training ever since."

"Wow! I take back what I thought about you before Hiko-san!"

"Huh? And what was that?"

"That you were just a stupid looking perverted ronin!" And with that said Naruto ran to the front of the caravan in a fit of laughter.

Now Hiko sported a very large vein throbbing in his head. He could only mutter something about stupid yellow rats and how disrespectful children were nowadays.

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Jiraiya was on the road to the new gambling town that his contacts had reported Tsunade being in. He could not help thinking about the "What if's ", "Could have been's" and the mistakes that were made in regards to a certain blonde boy. But now it was a moot point. He had to concentrate on finding her first and then have his spy network concentrated on finding the kid. He knew that soon Akatsuki would start moving and the kid, being all alone and defenseless, would become an easy target.

He also prayed that Tsunade had already forgiven him for trying to peep on her last time they met. Poor Jiraiya had never been as close to death as he was that day. Hell! He could still feel the phantom pain caused by her small yet so frightening fists.

'Why do I get the feeling that by the time I get back to Konoha I'll be looking like an old crappy punching bag?'

He sighed and continued on his journey.

A/N

Whew… that was my longest chapter yet!

Anyways, I hop you guys like it! And remember: I live for the reviews!

Next chapter: Jiraiya finally finds Tsunade, will she take the news well? And the test to become the Hiten Mitsurugi successor is not conventional at all!

Chapter 4: MASTER AND APPRENTICE!

Feel free to post any criticism (constructive) or suggestions.

Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 4: Master And Apprentice

Here goes chapter four.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto cause' if I did I'd be swimming in money while yelling: "I'M RICH BITCH!"

**SPOILER ALERT:**

**IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST MANGA CHAPTERS AND DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS THEN DON'T READ.**

"Hello" character speaking.

'Hello' character thinking.

"HELLO" character yelling aloud

'HELLO' character yelling in his/her mind

**Everything in bold letters will denote a supernatural creature speaking "Hello" or thinking 'Hello'.**

**LEGEND**

**PART 1, CHAPTER 4: I NOW DECLARE YOU: MASTER AND APPRENTICE!**

Uchiha Sasuke sat in his usual spot with his ever present scowl, brooding about this and that. 'The past couple of weeks have been boring.' He thought. 'Where the hell is the dobe? Normally he would be around challenging me or something but he hasn't even shown up for class.' Lately he had been hearing rumors about the blonde. "He ran away." Some said, "The Hokage finally killed him." He heard from others.

His thoughts were interrupted by two of his most persistent fan girls: Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. "Can we sit with you?" Both said at the same time.

"Hn" Was his only response and promptly ignored them in favor of brooding.

Even though Uchiha Sasuke would never admit it, his life now seemed much darker than before.

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They had finally arrived to Hokuryu town but Hiko had not noticed. Normally being as distracted as he was right now would mean death but remembering good times was worth it, at least to him.

Good times, those had been rare in his life. Ever since he had been banished from his home by the leaders of his 'clan' at the young age of fourteen his life had been a constant struggle to survive all because he had never agreed with his clan's policies, being the illegitimate son of the 'prestigious' clan leader and his mistress had not helped things at all. Every moment had seemed dark until the day he met his master. 'Man! Is that old man a pain in the ass or what?!' he thought sourly, even though a smile formed in his face 'But he gave me a reason to live and for that, I'm grateful.' He failed to stop a grimace from showing on his face when he remembered the torture/training he suffered at the hands of the 'evil old man', 'I wonder if the sadistic coot is enjoying his retirement though?' he paused. 'Naahhh! Old bastard must be bored out of his mind!'

So lost was he in memories from his past that he failed to notice the kid calling out to him until Naruto grabbed his cape.

"Hey! Mister! Pay attention we are here!"

Hiko's thoughts finally returned to the present.

"What's wrong? You seemed out of it for most of the trip."

"It's nothing kid. I was just remembering my old master, the previous Hiko Seijuro."

"And where is he?"

"Enjoying his life as a retired man in the Dragon of Heaven's Temple in Mizu no Kuni" he then asked: "Aren't you planning on returning home soon?" 'Home' Hiko had to snort at that. From what he knew of the lives that Jinchuruuki led, the villagers of Konoha should consider themselves **very** lucky that the kid had not drawn on the hatred and power of the demon to become a killing machine… like that poor kid in Suna.

"I will return… one day. You see I promised to someone who's very important to me that I would return! And Uzumaki Naruto always keeps his promises!"

Hiko seemed surprised at this. Normally Jinchuruuki had no one whom actually cared for them. Once more, he paid attention to Naruto just as the boy continued.

"But I can't go back yet. You see… I had a very bad experience before I left and I could feel something strange inside of me, something an awful voice that told me to kill everyone. I think it was the fur ball. But at the same time there was this other feeling telling me that I had to leave and it was even stronger! It was weird!"

Hiko thought about this and decided to keep the boy close to him for a while. He would examine the seal and try to determine if there was anything wrong with it. After all, you don't travel with a seal master for more than two years without learning anything from him. He then noticed a town guard walking towards them.

"Excuse me but you need to identify yourselves."

"I'm Hiko Seijuro. I met this caravan on my way here. They were being attacked by those bandits that you see tied up on the carts beat them up and decided to get the reward for their capture. There is a reward for them, isn't there?"

"Hiko Seijuro?! **The **Hiko Seijuro?!" He guard asked with wonder in his voice.

"YES my friend! I see that you've heard of me and my valiant exploits!"

"Yes sir! Wow! Hiko Seijuro! I did not expect to meet a living legend like yourself, you know?"

As the butt-kissing, ego-aggrandizing and utterly useless talk was happening Naruto could not help to wonder if this Hiko guy was actually as good as he heard the people, first in the caravan and now the guards, say that he was. But now that he actually thought of the way he had put the bandits down in a couple of swings he came to the realization that Hiko wasn't just big talk.

"What about the boy?" The guard asked.

Hiko looked down at Naruto and felt the trepidation that came to the kid. If he identified himself here, it would not take Konoha very long to learn of his whereabouts. He would help the boy, for now. "He is my traveling companion and assisted me in bringing these criminals to justice."

"Really now, and he is such a young child." The guard turned to look at Naruto "You must be something special boy. For the Battosai to allow anyone to travel with him is truly an honor." (Battosai master of the art of drawing the sword from its scabard)

Naruto blushed at the compliment, scratched his cheek and gave an uncharacteristically meek thank you to the guard.

Soon another guard that had been checking on the bandit gang joined them. "Seems like you got all of them Hiko-sama. These guys had been giving us trouble for months but thanks to you the road is now safe."

"What about the reward?" Hiko asked.

"I've already sent word to the police station inside of town. Just go there and claim it."

"Thank you, kind sir." Hiko said. "Now boy come with me."

Naruto was at a loss for what to do in this situation but upon seeing Hiko already at the town gate decided to follow him.

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Naruto found himself standing before Hiko in a forest area inside of town, they had claimed their reward and the man had been kind enough to split it in two with him. He told the swords man the whole story, that weird feeling that told him to trust the older man was just as strong if not stronger as it had been the time he had met him. Now he wondered what they were doing here. The silence was worrying him until Hiko decided to talk.

"Now boy, do you know where in your body the containment seal is placed on?"

"No sir…" Naruto answered "But I think it's in my stomach, if felt as if it was burning when that… happened back in Konoha."

"It makes sense I guess." Hiko replied. "Ok, take off your jacket and shirt, concentrate your chakra and we'll see if it's there."

Naruto did as instructed and after a few seconds the seal appeared in his navel.

Hiko let a low whistle of appreciation flow from his mouth as he stared at the seal. "Wow! That has to be the most complicated seal I have seen in my life. Man! Minato was a true genius."

"Minato?" Naruto asked.

"Ah! It was the Fourth Hokage's name. I traveled with him for nearly two years before the start of the Third Great Ninja War… before his appointment as Hokage." He motioned Naruto to put on his clothes. 'What kind of jutsu did he use? This seal is not enough to contain the full power of the Kyubi. Where is the rest of it?'

"You met the Yondaime?!" Naruto asked with his shirt stuck on his head.

"Yes, and I learned a lot of things about seals from him. As a matter of fact, I think I'll study your seal a little more and try to learn more about Fuinjutsu (seal arts)."

"Wow, so you must be really good if you traveled with the Yondaime!"

Hiko's response was nothing short of childish. "**Excuse me! **But I'm famous because who I am and what I have done **not** because of whom I've been associated with in the past!"

Naruto looked sheepish as he apologized. "Sorry, it's just that he's been my hero all my life and it's my goal to surpass him and be called the greatest ninja and Hokage of all time."

"Hmmm, he is a high benchmark alright. After all, he's been the only man to ever defeat me in battle." Then he took a thinking pose. "About the seal, from what I saw, it's set up to allow a constant influx of the bijuu's chakra t be mixed with yours, increasing your own reserves and stamina over time. However, it should be impossible for the creature to transmit its thoughts or instincts to you. There has to be something else at work."

"Anyways, I'm hungry kid, let's head into town and find something to eat. I'll pay." Hiko immediately felt he was going to regret having invited the kid to eat.

"Wahoo! Ramen!"

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They had claimed the reward at the town's police station and had it split in two. Naruto had never had so much money in his pocket as he did right now but all of this was completely forgotten once they reached the Ramen booth.

'Okay!' Hiko thought sitting in his stool inside of a ramen bar while watching Naruto happily slurping the broth and noodles 'There is no fucking way the two are not related! He swallows this stuff just like he did!' he then turned to his own, his appetite gone from watching the gross spectacle the kid was making. He noticed something now "What the…! TWENTY BOWLS?! How the hell did you put away twenty bowls of ramen?! IN UNDER THREE MINUTES?!"

Hiko's face connected with the ground one more time when he heard Naruto's answer.

"Practice?"

"PRACTICE?! YOU DON'T PRACTICE EATING THIS STUFF!" Screamed our favorite swordsman as several big sweat drops formed on his face.

Now Naruto put his last bowl away and decided to ask what he had been thinking on asking ever since they arrived in town.

"Hiko-san? Sir? You think it would be possible for me to learn this Hi-mitsu-something from you?" And with the question he pulled out one of his greatest weapons: the puppy-eyes no jutsu!

"It's 'Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu' and I doubt it. It requires many years of dedication to truly master. It's not only that, there is also a rule: Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu should never become attached to any form of government, it should be free to strike at any foe and in any place where the people are in danger." Hiko continued "You said that your dream is to become Hokage, didn't you?" At Naruto's nod he said. "If that came to pass the ancient kenjutsu would become attached to Konoha and such power would be wielded by its government to strike at other nations. It cannot be allowed." Naruto looked crestfallen at the answer but said nothing. Hiko continued in his mind 'But I guess it's time for that tradition to be broken once again.' He was frowning now 'It's just as my master said, I have started getting this feeling that soon more than one Hiten Mitsurugi master will be needed.' He looked down at Naruto. 'Besides, he is a good kid, after he comes to understand the style's true power he will never consider teaching the art to anyone who's not worthy.'

"But I think it might be time for the tradition to change a little. **If** you pass my test, that is." Hiko was smirking now in a manner that reminded Naruto of Sasuke.

Naruto's eyes took on a strange shine now. 'He's challenging me!'

"You'll see Ero-rurouni! There is nothing that can stop me! Uzumaki Naruto never backs down from a challenge! Dattebayo!"

"We'll see about that! Yellow Rat!" Hiko said out loud but in his mind he already had the conclusion of this test played out. 'He shows that he has the will to do master it. This will be fun!'

Hiko paid for their food and they left to begin the test that would determine if Naruto was worthy of the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu apprenticeship.

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It was late at night. They had returned to the same spot in the forest for it was isolated and it insured there would be no interruptions. After six hours of the most grueling exercises Naruto had ever done he now laid in a heap, beaten, tired, breathing heard and dirty all over.

'Man that was hard! But I did it! I went through with it!'

"Well done boy! You really **are** a cut above the others I have tested. No one else has lasted as long as you did." Hiko said from the darkness. 'He's already proven that he meets all of the requirements but I want to have some fun before I tell him that.' He continued "Now there is one final test and it's the most important of them!"

"And... what... is it?" Naruto managed to ask through his labored breath.

Hiko pulled out a photo camera and held it to Naruto. His face had a lecherous grin and a reddish tint on it. "You must go to the bathhouse early in the morning and take no less than ten pictures of beautiful young ladies as they bathe! He he he!"

"YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?!" Naruto yelled, his weariness forgotten "What's the point of doing that?!"

Hiko stammered searching for a somewhat appropriate answer. "It will… uh… teach you stealth, yeah that's it! Stealth!"

"Whatever! Just give me the damn camera Ero-rurouni! But when I come back you better be ready to teach me!" With that said he reached for the camera and pocketed it. He prepared a tent and got ready to sleep for the night.

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On top of a mountain, on an undisclosed location somewhere else in the continent, a non human figure could be seen staring at the land below. Dark clouds had gathered and covered the moon. Soon it was raining but the creature did not seem bothered by this and its face showed no emotion. However, its eyes revealed a mind hard at work. The being remained in the same position for a long time, until a new figure, a human looking one, appeared behind him and bowed.

"My lord, we have attained information pertaining the whereabouts of the Fox." The man said.

"What is it?" It asked.

"Reports indicate that it suddenly showed up some 10 years ago near one of the ninja villages located in Hi no Kuni. If reports are to be believed… it was defeated by the leader of the Konoha ninja, the Yondaime Hokage."

The figure became pensive at that last bit of news.

The man continued "Based on this information I believe the best course of action would be to head to Konoha and gather as much information as we can."

"Good. Is there anything else?"

"Yes my lord, what do you want us to do regarding the Uchiha?" Disgust was apparent in the servant's voice.

"The remaining children of Tengu are not of my concern but if they try to interfere, or anyone else for that matter, we will destroy them!" Declared the creature as lightning and thunder pierced the darkened skies revealing a monstrous looking creature. When the light receded, only a red light glow that encompassed all of its inhuman eyes could be seen.

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The sunrays of the early morning found our young hero sneaking around the ladies side of the bathhouse with some very angry thoughts going through his head. 'Damn that Ero-rurouni for forcing me to do this!' He continued his mental rant 'If he wants to look at naked women why doesn't he come and do this himself?!' As soon as he had a good view he started taking pictures.

It was then that he noticed her, a blonde woman whom he guessed was about twenty five years old a weird seal on her forehead and the most absolutely huge set of knockers he had seen in his young life. With her sat another beautiful brunette lady a little younger than her and the weirdest of the trio, a pig. Naruto felt a little blood coming out of his nose and soon realized why Hiko-teme liked this.

He kept taking pictures of the scene and soon had enough for the successful completion of the 'test'. Too bad he did not notice all the noise that he made caught the attention of the blonde woman. He had just turned to leave his hiding spot when he heard a voice from behind.

"And just what were you doing, boy?" The lady looked at him with curiosity for a moment "Do I know you? You look kind of familiar." It was the blonde woman and she looked scary, as if the doors to hell itself were in her eyes.

"Uh… taking pictures? Everyone looks the same?" Naruto had to mentally slap himself. 'That was not the smartest thing to say. Oh Shit! All of the women are right behind her and they looked abso-fucking-lutely pissed' And so, Naruto's instinct of self preservation finally kicked in deciding in a few nanoseconds that it was better to run for his life "He he he… bye!"

"Come back here you little pervert!" Yelled most of the women as they gave chase momentarily forgetting that they were mostly naked.

An hour later our Naruto was sitting with his back to a tree, breathing hard and looking at Hiko disgustedly. Hiko for his part was going over the pictures his face flushed and full of glee. He came to a stop when he noticed the photo of the blonde woman who had given the boy so much grief 'Ah hell! I should have known that she'd be here! They just opened a new casino in town!'

"You took a picture of **her**?" Hiko asked.

"Her?" Looked at the picture and felt the blood rushing to his face. "Who's she anyways?" The young boy asked with genuine curiosity.

"Forget about it!" He continued "I've decided to take you on as my servant… err… apprentice boy!"

"Really?! That's awesome! When does the training start?! Tell me! Tell me!" A very excited Naruto asked.

"We…" Hiko started responding but had to stop when he heard a huge commotion coming towards them. It was then that he looked at the woman leading the mob. 'Oh shit, it's Tsunade-hime!'

"THERE HE IS! LET'S GET THAT LITTLE PERVERT!" The women yelled as they came, along with several town guards, into the forest clearing.

"Naruto?" asked Hiko in a deceptively calm tone "What happened in town?"

"Uh… That crazy blonde lady chased me and… uh… she destroyed a lot of buildings with her freakish strength." Said a now thoroughly scared Naruto.

"Ok… and Naruto? RUN!"

And so, it was the first time that the newly appointed master and apprentice duo were run out of town out of fear for their lives. To the misfortune of our young hero, it would not be the last time.

"DAMN YOU ERO-SENSEI!" Naruto screamed the phrase he would soon become very familiar with.

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A few hours later the chase had been given up and the mob had to return to town. Some of the guards were in a state of disbelief when one of them recognized Hiko Seijuro as one of the peeping toms.

"Man! Can you believe that the Battosai is a pervert?!" One of the guards asked in general.

Tsunade's ears perked up at this "The Battosai? Hiko Seijuro?"

"Yes ma'am that was him alright!" answered the same guard that had received our dynamic duo at the town gate the day before.

A vein began throbbing on Tsunade's head. "How come most of the good guys in this world are perverts?" Indeed not even her beloved Dan had been beyond such behavior. "I swear if I see another pervert I'll just put him in orbit!"

A few days away on the road to Hokuryu town Jiraiya sneezed and a feeling of dread came to him.

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After three days of travel Jiraiya had finally reached Hokuryu and was looking forward to a shower and a warm bed to sleep in.

Just as he was checking in into a hotel he noticed two women in bath robes and a pig heading in the direction of the hot springs. He immediately recognized the person he was looking for.

"Tsunade!" he said out loud.

"Jiraiya? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Who would have guessed that finding you would be this easy?"

"Huh?" was her intelligent reply.

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A few hours later, after Jiraiya had gotten setup at the hotel and cleaned himself up, the two Sannin found themselves drinking sake and remembering the good old days. Shizune had decided to leave the two alone in favor of the hot springs.

"So… tell me Jiraiya, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing escapes you, huh?" Jiraiya sounded amused "Alright! I'll go straight to the point!" he paused for dramatic effect "We need you to come back to Konoha permanently."

"I'm not going back Jiraiya. There are too many bad memories on that place."

"**Well** then! I don't think you'll be interested in knowing that a certain blonde haired boy with whisker marks on his cheeks and a powerful demon sealed within him, someone that is blood related to you by the way, decided to run away from the village." 'That should have caught her attention.' He paused to look at her widened eyes and continued. "I guess I'll just finish my sake spend the night in town and head on my merry way to Konoha in the morning. Then the council will place an 'execute on sight' order on the boys head because the Hokage did not have enough allies in the council to put a stop to that discussion." Jiraiya's voice was dripping sarcasm as he said this.

"WHAT?!" Ooh! He had her now!

Jiraiya turned serious now. "I've been chosen as the Godaime, Tsunade. Because of his position as an ex-Hokage and head of the Sarutobi clan sensei has an assured spot in the council and **you** do too. You are the **last** living relative of the Shodaime Hokage after all. And with both of you are in the council I will have enough support to shoot down any measure the opposition might try to implement."

Tsunade nodded and Jiraiya was happy to notice some of the fire, which had been lost years ago, return to the eyes of his childhood love.

"Meet us at the gate at nine tomorrow morning Jiraiya. Cause' I'm going back to Konoha and head are going to roll." She said with a determination she had not felt in years. She got off the bar stool and headed towards the door.

For his part Jiraiya only nodded and decided to control his perverted tendencies for a while lest his head be one of those to roll.

Suddenly she stopped cold 'BLONDE! WHISKER MARKS! IT WAS THAT PERVERTED KID!'

"JIRAIYA! He was in town three days ago! He was with the Battosai!" She exclaimed startling Jiraiya.

"Three days ago?! Is he still here?!" He asked.

"No! They were being perverted and we chased them out of town until we lost track of them!" Tsunade said exasperatedly as she brought her hands to her head trying to sooth the coming headache.

"Damn it! I should have brought an Inuzuka with me! We might have been able to track him!" He then bit his thumb and summoned a small frog and immediatly sent it to Konoha with a message to get a tracking team before the last vestiges of the boy's presence in town disappeared.

After he did this he thought about what else Tsunade had told him.

"Wait a minute! You said Battosai, right?!" Tsunade nodded in response and it made Jiraiya smile. This only served to confuse her.

"What's with the smile?" She asked in a flat tone.

"Nothing, it's just that... maybe not everything is lost." He replied.

He motioned for her to sit down again and started telling her of his former pupil's travels and adventures with a man named Hiko Seijuro, a man better known as the Battosai.

A/N

Whew… that was an even longer chapter!

Anyways, I hope you guys like it! And remember: I live for the reviews!

Next chapter:

The training in Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu begins,

Tsunade returns home a let the rumble begin!

Chapter 5: And Watch People's Heads A' Roll!

Feel free to post any criticism (constructive) or suggestions.

Thank you for reading!


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